Life is Too Short Without Sprinkles
by Dreamer1920
Summary: A little One-Shot fluff of Tony & Angela hanging out in the kitchen. (My first 'Who's the Boss' story). Rated T just to be safe.


**Hello there. So, this story is a bit different for me, as I'm so used to writing SpongeBob stories. Now, I've watched a lot of Who's the Boss? And I do know the characters fairly well, so I'm going to try my best here to make a good little one-shot. Hopefully, this will turn out ok. Here goes nothing!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except this story.**

**Life is Too Short Without Sprinkles**

Ah, the Fourth of July- the anniversary of the great declaration of independence. A day where families get together and celebrate the freedom of the beautiful United States. Family dinners, parades, fireworks; everything is all about the fun, excitement, and freedom… And maybe even a little cake.

In the Bower household, Independence Day was greatly cherished and celebrated by the oddball family. Tony Micelli, the proud housekeeper (also the man of the house), especially loved the fun-filled holiday. Actually, Tony, being the energetic and charismatic fellow that he was, loved anything to do with celebrations. Why? Well, the answer was simple: it meant he could bake a celebratory dessert! Any excuse was as good as any to eat sugary food, right?

Tony danced around merrily in the large kitchen, humming to himself as he often did while he gathered together and mixed the ingredients for a triple-chocolate fudge and vanilla cake; complete with buttercream frosting that he had colored red, white, and blue. And, of course, he was planning to drizzle it in the shape of the American flag.

Earlier that evening, the Bowers and Micellis had attended a local baseball game (which was Tony's idea, of course), and stayed long afterward to watch the spectacular fireworks show. They had a great deal of fun; especially Angela's spunky mother, Mona, who shouted in victory any time their team had hit a home run. She _also_ had gotten a bit carried away when she was irritated by the loud and obnoxious middle-aged men with beer bellies that sat behind them. It could be said that those men went home with hot dogs shoved in their ears as a result of Mona's outburst.

In the kitchen, as Tony was busy mixing a bowl of flour, as well as other dry ingredients, his boss and arguably his very best friend, Angela, tapped on the swinging kitchen door.

Tony's happy thoughts of the game were interrupted. He looked over to his right and locked eyes with the blonde beauty, who was sporting a small, crooked smile.

"Evening, Tony," she said, her tone of voice friendly and soft.

Her handsome housekeeper returned her contagious smile, only his was even more crooked. "Hey, Angela. That was some game tonight, huh?" he asked, looking over at her while he stirred up his ingredients.

Angela kept her smile, raising her eyebrows in agreeance as she casually strolled into the kitchen, swinging her arms back and forth. "Oh, I would say so; if only mother hadn't lost her cool the way she did."

Tony chuckled. "Well, you know Mona. Always lookin' for a way to show off that fierce side of hers." He shook his head with a smile, beginning to add the wet ingredients to the dry.

Angela nodded, prepared to make a rebuttal to his statement. "Yes, well, if only you knew just how many times that 'fierce' side got her into trouble in more important situations," she shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tony scoffed, pursing his lips to the side as he poured the batter into the glass cake dish. "Oh, yeah? Like when?" he questioned.

Angela's eyes darted around the room as she bit her lip. "Oh, I don't know, like maybe, possibly, the time she almost got arrested at the grocery store for throwing a temper tantrum because the cop wouldn't give her back that bottle of wine?" she cocked a brow.

Tony looked at her in surprise. "Aw, ya can't blame her for _that_ one, Angela. That wine was imported!"

Angela stared at him in the eyes. "From a man's shopping cart?"

Tony's gaze momentarily shifted to the floor. "Yeah, you're right. But he could've shared," he joked, making Angela crack into a full-blown smile.

The woman shook her head. What would she do without Tony's sense of humor? Or his kindness and generosity? Or the warmth of his hugs whenever she needed comfort? Or that fragrant cologne he always wore? Man, sandalwood and bergamot sure smelled good on him.

"This cake is missin' something… " he said, rubbing the underside of his chin.

"_My goodness, Tony's hair sure looks good tonight…" _she thought. _"I wonder if he's using a new styling gel. Wait a minute… Does Tony even __**use**__ styling gel? Oh, whatever it is, it's doing wonders for him."_

Angela was snapped out of her thoughts when Tony snapped his fingers. "I got it!" he exclaimed.

Angela looked confused. "W-what's it?"

Tony grabbed a bottle of red, white, and blue sprinkles from the pantry. He held it up proudly with that big, goofy smile of his. "What good is cake without a little sprinkles, ay?" he chuckled.

Angela let go of a breath, giving a quick nod with a smile. "Of course, of course. You always know how to have fun, Tony."

He smiled warmly. "Well, you only live once, am I right?" he looked up, catching her gaze.

The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity as the room became extra quiet. In those few moments, the two shared an unspoken, tender exchange of fondness. Even though he had been working for this woman for a long time, it never ceased to amaze him just how brightly her eyes shined.

They stood facing each other, only a few feet away. Gosh, his gaze was intense. It seemed that these two often didn't even have to say a single word in order to understand what the other was thinking or feeling. Angela hadn't even felt this kind of warmth from her ex-husband, which was quite surprising to her as she thought about it.

This feeling, his warm gaze, her glistening pools of chocolate, the tension in the air- it was all too much. Goodness, if only they were to step just a _little_ closer…

_**Beep, beep, beep**_

The ready, hot oven had interrupted their moment of silence; scary, yet still comforting silence.

Angela let out a breathy chuckle. "Oh, oven's ready."

Tony returned her awkward expression. "Yeah, I heard. _Ding, ding_," he joked.

Angela looked somewhat unamused. "The oven goes _beep, beep_, Tony."

He waved her off and laughed. "_Beep, beep, ding, ding,_ it's all the same: little interruptions." He opened the oven, preparing to slide the cake inside.

Little interruptions? Was he thinking the same thing that she was?

She noticed him looking at all the counter spaces. "What is it you're looking for, Tony?"

He shrugged; a bit flustered. "I saw the potholders around here somewhere…" they both searched for a few moments with their eyes until magically, there they were, sitting right where he had last placed them before. Strange how things disappear and then reappear out of nowhere in life.

In one split second, as both sets of eyes found the heat protectors, two different hands landed on one another.

The two felt their pulses rise and their cheeks redden as they both looked up at each other. "Oh, look, here they are… " he said, an awkward and goofy smile creeping up onto his lips.

Angela was unknowingly making the same expression. "Uh-huh, now you can put that puppy in the oven."

He raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Puppy? I don't remember gettin' a puppy, Angela."

She stared him in the eyes. Oh, Tony. He could be so clueless sometimes. "I meant the cake, Tony."

"Oh! Yeah."

And so, a few more awkward moments and one cake in the oven later, the two stood and smiled at each other.

Angela bit her lip, feeling the awkwardness in the air. "Well, I'm going to take a shower."

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, me too." She looked at him in confusion.

Tony realized how strange that little sentence sounded. "I-I meant in the **other** shower, not yours. That's yours, not mine," he shook his head and awkwardly chuckled.

Just then, Mona came strolling through the kitchen, wearing her bathrobe and carrying a mug of coffee. "Wrong. I just spent an hour in there; there's no more hot water." She smiled smugly and placed her mug in the sink.

"Mother!" said Angela, annoyed.

"What? Why don't you just borrow some of that cologne of Tony's that you're always **raving** on about?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

Tony and Angela glanced at each other and blushed. Oh, Mona. Always making life a little more interesting with that unapologetic, mischievous mouth of hers.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was my first Who's the Boss? Story. I hope it was ok. (Fyi, Tony and Angela are one of my most favorite couples ever). Thank you for reading and happy 4****th**** of July!**


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